Coach David Blatt was satisfied with his team’s 80 – 76 win over BC Khimki: “It wasn’t that important a game, but we looked the way Maccabi Electra Tel Aviv should.”
By Amy Samin
After the game, Maccabi Electra Tel Aviv head coach David Blatt said, “We didn’t have anything to prove in this game, we’ve already secured first place in our Euroleague group.
Khimki is a team with a lot of talent, and not an easy team to play against.
We made a huge comeback, and I’m very happy with this win, even more so than some of our earlier victories, even though this one was less important.
We looked the way Maccabi Electra Tel Aviv should look.”
When asked about the condition of injured forward Lior Eliyahu, Blatt said, “Lior has a lot pain in his back and we didn’t want to risk him (by putting him back in the game).
I salute Sofo, Tal Burstein, Guy Pnini, and Richard Hendrix, who have come back from injuries and illness.”
“We didn’t show up for the first half, they were more prepared, but we knew that the final minutes of the first half were crucial and we were able to cut their lead a little.
We got a hold of ourselves and started to play the way we should; we played with character.
I want to dedicate this game to all of the athletes, coaches and those responsible for the Special Olympics project in Israel.
I had the pleasure of taking part in their event this week, and it was wonderful.
I promised them we would win this one for them, and I’m happy we were able to keep that promise.”
Jeremy Pargo, who was named MVP and finished with 18 points, concluded: “The end was great.
I think everyone stepped up in the second half.
We did a good job and we achieved our goal.
Those guys slapped us around quite a bit in the first half; I’m glad we woke up in the second half.
Basketball’s a game of runs; they ran in the first half and we did in the second.
We’ve got just one game left in this round, the fact that it’s just a formality doesn’t matter to us.
We don’t go into any game to lose, and we’re going to come out and play hard.”
Sofoklis Schortsanitis, who came back strong from a knee injury and scored 13 points, said, “We came back, we were serious, we played defense, and we won the game like we always do.
This was a game about pride and about will.
We played defense and we played hard, that’s it.
We have great character and a fantastic team.
We all stand by each other.
We just need to stay serious and we’ll win.
I don’t feel all that good, my knee hurts, but I wanted to stand by the guys.”
Richard Hendrix said, “I’m happy I had the opportunity to play and get back into things after being sick for awhile.
We have a really good team and I’m happy that I personally could contribute to the game.
I enjoyed hearing the fans call my name.”
Tal Burstein noted, “It’s hard to get into a game that doesn’t really serve any purpose in terms of our ranking, but we showed a lot of character in the second half and got back into the game by way of our defense.
Now we have another game like this, and for our own sakes, for our pride, and for our fans, we need to take it seriously.
Obviously, David (Blatt) wasn’t pleased with the first half, none of us were.
We talked a lot about how we need to do our jobs properly and to give it our all, no matter who we’re playing against or how we’re ranked.
